I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a shipping log for transporting and supporting components, and more particularly, for a shipping log for shipping industrial parts such as windows, doors, bumpers for cars and the like in a vertical alignment.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Many components for machinery and automobiles require special handling in shipping. Components such as doors, inner door structures, bumper facias, windshields, must be carefully shipped in order to preserve the finish. Many of these parts cannot rest on an end or an edge because of the product configuration and must be supported at an intermediate position. Additionally, products must be supported in such a manner as to maintain the components in a secure position within the shipping containers while preventing damage to the components.
Heretofore, metal racks having adjustable components or specially manufactured crates with special dunnage have been molded or fabricated. Frequently, special attachments must be manufactured for each product to be shipped. In some cases, components are shipped in crates having specially formed dunnage such as foam blocks or cardboard strips to transport the components.
After use, the large metal racks must be shipped back to the manufacturing site for reuse and the components reassembled to support the product. In the case of crates using specially molded dunnage, the dunnage must be discarded requiring disposal facilities, as well as the additional expense of using new crates and dunnage for the shipping of new materials.
Shipping devices for transporting lites, are known such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,043 to Lastic which discloses folding a resilient compressible pad over an edge portion of a sheet of glass and wedging the folded pad and sheet into slots of a pair of elongated logs of a shipping container. The pad is thus compressed within the slot to apply a biasing force to hold the sheet securely in position against longitudinal movement within the shipping container during transportation. Lastic, alternatively discloses lining each slot of the log with a resilient pad prior to insertion of the sheet into the slot.
My prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,774, discloses a shipping log having a plurality of vertical slots to maintain the sheet members in a spaced apart vertical alignment and a resilient formable strip extending across a plurality of grooves and deformable into the grooves under the weight of the sheet member to prevent longitudinal displacement of the sheet members.
Automotive lite manufacturers are now installing gaskets on the lites prior to shipment to the automotive manufacturer. Known shipping containers for lites are unusable for shipping windshields with attached gaskets. It is necessary to support the windshields so that the flange of the gasket does not become kinked or distorted. Such kinking and distortion may result in making the gasket unusable in the automobile. Thus, it is necessary to support a windshield in such a position that the gasket and flange are not kinked or marred. Previously known support logs do not support the windshield in such a fashion as to prevent kinking or distortion of the flange.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a shipping device for shipping and storage of parts in a vertical alignment, not only in order to save space while not supporting the weight of the workpiece on the bottom edge of the device. Additionally, it would be desirable to provide a device which is inexpensive to produce and may be reused.
Additionally, it would be advantageous to provide shipping devices which prevent distortion or damage to the surfaces of the parts, may be adaptable for a variety of shipping containers and parts.